Financial Accountant - Cluster at Food For Education

About the Role

• Financial Accountant - Cluster plays a critical operational and financial role in financial reporting, managing supply chain costs, inventory integrity, and accounts payable across a designated cluster of kitchens. Reporting to the Finance Manager, this role bridges financial oversight with kitchen operations—ensuring accurate financial reporting, Cost Per Meal (CPM) analysis, strict stock control, timely vendor reconciliations, and compliance with internal policies, GAAP, and IFRS.

Core Responsibilities

Operational Analysis and Business Partnering

• Manage day-to-day operations ensuring proper tracking, reconciliation and posting of core ingredients , grocery costs, transport costs, energy costs, kitchen consumables , kitchen utilities, health and safety items, labor costs and any other cost per meal related costs.
• Manage Inventory including ensuring proper receipt and transfers, consumption, physical stock take and reconciliation, while ensuring available management tools including Sage and Appsheet are updated timely and accurately.
• Compile, analyse, and generate timely, error-free Cost Per Meal (CPM) and core accounting reports for assigned kitchen units.
• Conduct bi-weekly CPM / CPC review meetings with respective Kitchen Managers (KMs) to identify variance drivers (e.g., Inventory management, food items costing, groceries invoices, program salary etc) and drive timely corrective actions.
• Conduct a weekly check in with the Finance Manager and the Financial Controller on the cluster kitchen Operations.
• Provide bi-weekly CPM updates to the Finance leadership and the actions that have been taken to solve variances noted and process improvements undertaken.
• Provide monthly financial and operational reports for review including inventory reconciliations and proposed/ approved adjustments and obtain signoff by Finance and operations leadership.
• Partner with Operations and HR Business Partners (HRBPs) to review, reconcile, and post program salary inputs for outsourced labour on a bi- weekly basis.

Inventory Oversight & Stock Control

• Perform daily reviews of inventory movements, grocery documentation, and grocery invoice posting to Sage ERP.
• Conduct period and monthly physical stock take, reconcile sub-ledger to General Ledger (GL) accounts, process necessary inventory adjustments, and perform stock valuations.
• Obtain signed-off inventory consumption approvals (via email/AppSheet) from Operations teams, and accurately post consumption into the Sage ERP system.
• Formally document and maintain agreed-upon inventory valuation bases (e.g.,Weighted Average Cost) between Finance and Operations.

Accounts Payable & Vendor Management

• Verify, allocate, and post grocery-related bills and invoices in a timely manner.
• Perform routine Accounts Payable (AP) reconciliations and maintain clear follow-ups on vendor payment status to preserve supplier relations.
• Manage petty transactions, by ensuring correct and accurate costs categorization, support funds requisition and support documentation of all petty cash payments. Confirm supplementary meal allocations, and maintain complete audit-ready filing systems.

Process Improvement & Financial Controls

• Proactively monitor accounting workflows to identify operational inefficiencies, spot errors, and propose cost-saving or process optimization strategies.
• Review accounting systems, policies, and procedures; recommend updates and support the implementation of new financial guidelines, GAAP, and IFRS standards.

Compliance, Stakeholder Management & Audit

• Build strong working relationships with internal stakeholders (Kitchen Managers, HR, Operations, Central Finance) and external vendors.
• Lead audit readiness for both internal and external audits by preparing clear, structured documentation that provides evidence of procedures performed, results, and conclusions reached.
• Perform other ad-hoc financial and operational duties as assigned.